(Victor Joecks, Las Vegas Review-Journal) – Rarely do you see a teachers union supporting a policy that would decrease future education funding, but that’s what the Nevada State Education Association did recently at the Nevada Legislature.
The bill is SB486, which would give state workers the ability to bargain collectively. Currently, state government has given only local government employees the ability to bargain collectively. Local unions have leveraged this power to dramatically increase their pay. Just go to TransparentNevada.com and look at the thousands of employees, most working for local governments, making more than $200,000 a year in total compensation.
These wages are so high because of collective bargaining. Just consider the unsustainable 2006 contract with Las Vegas Metro that included 10 percent yearly raises for four straight years.
This is the often-ignored driving force behind the now-dead local government push for property tax increases. Now unions, including the Nevada State Education Association, want to bring those same problems to state government.
